US citizen's name removed from "black list" of Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry

Baku, September 4, AZERTAC Paul Salopek, an employee of the National Geographic and a US citizen, requested Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry to remove his name from the list of undesirable persons, Hikmet Hajiyev, the head of the ministry's press service, said. Salopek was included to the ministry's list of undesirable persons for illegally visiting Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia. In a letter sent to the Foreign Ministry, the journalist expressed regret over the illegal visit and stressed that he respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Salopek also said his visit in no way served a purpose of recognizing the regime created in Azerbaijan's occupied territories, and apologized to the people of Azerbaijan. After the review of the request, Paul Salopek was removed from the list of undesirable persons. The journalist was also granted permission to visit Azerbaijan as part of a project titled "Out of Eden Walk" to study the routes of ancient peoples.